Soulslikes With Faster, More Aggressive Combat Than Elden Ring

Released in February 2022, Elden Ring quickly became known as the leading game in the challenging “soulslike” genre. It successfully combined the signature intense action of FromSoftware games with a massive, open world, offering an incredible amount of variety in areas, enemies, bosses, spells, and weapons. While its combat system is a major strength, allowing players to create powerful character builds, some found the sheer number of options overwhelming and wished for a bit more focus and depth, similar to other action-packed games.

Recently, many games have been mixing elements of classic “soulslike” combat with traditional action gameplay, leading to discussions about what truly defines each genre. Some newer soulslike games offer a noticeably faster and more aggressive combat experience than games like Elden Ring. They achieve this by streamlining weapon choices, increasing enemy speed, making fights more fluid, focusing on skillful blocking, and incorporating complex combo systems that expand as you level up your character. This creates a variety of combat styles to appeal to different players. Here are some excellent examples of soulslikes that feature quicker, more intense, and more action-packed battles than Elden Ring.

The First Berserker: Khazan

Feel the Wrath

Blending elements of challenging ‘soulslike’ games with the fast-paced action of titles like Stellar Blade and Nier: Automata, The First Berserker: Khazan focuses heavily on quick, impactful combat. Players will master a variety of unique moves, choose from a handful of well-developed weapon types, and unlock powerful abilities as they play. The game is so centered around its excellent combat system and difficult boss battles that it feels like a series of intense challenges.

The combat in The First Berserker: Khazan is both incredibly challenging and visually stunning, quickly becoming a contender for the best in the genre – and deservedly so. Players who learn to wield weapons like spears, greatswords, or dual axes and swords, mastering their unique moves and perfect parries, become a force to be reckoned with, easily defeating enemies. Luckily, the game features challenging bosses that provide epic battles filled with constant, exciting action.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice

A Dance of Parries

As a big fan of FromSoftware games, I’ve noticed that while Elden Ring is amazing, some people—including me sometimes—want something a little faster and more in-your-face. That’s where Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice really shines! It’s often called the best action combat system ever, and I totally get why. It’s all about perfect timing and deflecting attacks. You have to master it just to get past the first few bosses, because there’s no room for error in Sekiro. It’s demanding, but incredibly rewarding when you finally nail those parries!

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a remarkably focused game, built around mastering a single katana. While it includes a few special attacks and prosthetic tools, these are limited by resources, preventing players from relying on easy, repetitive tactics. This design forces constant aggression – players must relentlessly deflect and counter enemy attacks until they find an opening for a decisive blow. FromSoftware’s Bloodborne is also noteworthy, offering a faster and more frantic combat experience that falls somewhere in between Sekiro’s precise, deliberate style and other action games.

Nioh 2

Too Many of Everything

Team Ninja, known for their exciting action games, created the Nioh series, which offers a unique take on the challenging ‘soulslike’ genre. While different from popular games like Elden Ring, it’s equally praised by fans. Nioh 2‘s combat is incredibly deep, featuring quick, stylish moves, a huge variety of weapons, magic, and special attacks. This can be a lot to learn at first, and it takes time and practice to master, but the effort is rewarding.

Nioh 2’s combat is thrilling and visually impressive because it carefully blends many different elements. Success depends on precise timing, blocking attacks, managing your resources, your character’s stats, and the quality of your gear. Team Ninja’s Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty also stands out with its complex, yet unique, combat system. Unlike Nioh 2, Wo Long features helpful companions that make battles feel even more dynamic.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

May the Patience Be With You

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor blends the excitement of classic action-adventure games with challenging combat inspired by the ‘souls-like’ genre. Though generally easier to pick up than many similar games – focusing mainly on lightsaber combat without complicated extras – players still need to learn enemy moves, boss patterns, and master timing their attacks, blocks, and retreats.

As you’d expect, Jedi: Survivor‘s combat is quicker and more action-packed than Elden Ring‘s. It’s based on the impressive Jedi moves seen in the films, with a focus on countering, dodging, and dramatic finishing moves, all enhanced by Force powers. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is easy to pick up but offers plenty of depth, and while it might not be as relentlessly difficult as some other games, players will still face tough enemies and bosses.

Black Myth: Wukong

This Monkey Got Hands

Even now, people are still arguing about whether Black Myth: Wukong should be considered a soulslike game. It definitely takes inspiration from great action-adventure titles, but it also borrows elements from the soulslike genre. Ultimately, the game focuses on challenging boss fights that demand skillful play and offer very few opportunities for rest.

As a fan, I’m completely blown away by how fluid and exciting the combat is in Black Myth: Wukong! You play as this incredibly agile character who can dodge almost anything, and then just unleash a relentless attack. There are so many ways to fight – different staff styles, crazy combos you unlock, powerful magic, and even transformations! It keeps the gameplay fresh and interesting. Plus, the enemies are really varied and the bosses are brilliantly designed, always keeping you challenged. Honestly, even after you get good at the game, some of those bosses are brutally difficult – a lot of players haven’t even managed to beat them all!

Wuchang: Fallen Feathers

Breeze of Change

Among the many soulslike games released recently, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers is a standout, especially considering it’s the developer’s first project. The game features quick, fluid, and demanding combat that feels truly rewarding, with enough customization options to make each fight unique and exciting. Players need to be both aggressive and strategic to succeed. The developers also deserve praise for quickly responding to player feedback after launch, which significantly improved the game.

In Wuchang, players are encouraged to experiment thanks to diverse weapons, each with unique skills, a character system that lets you freely change builds without penalty, and a variety of spells offering interesting effects. The game keeps you on edge with relentless enemies and bosses that often surprise you with second phases, and challenging checkpoint distances mean you’ll need to use every tool available to progress. It’s a tense and risky adventure where adapting your strategy is key.

2025-11-26 11:35